About the Certificate

Students seeking the Certificate in International Relations (CIR) are required to take a foreign language to the intermediate college level and introductory international politics, economics, and modern history courses relevant to the development of the contemporary international system. To be on pace, these courses should be taken or at least identified during the student’s first two years at Wesleyan. In addition, students are required to take five courses from the Advanced Courses list provided on the Certificate in International Relations Web site (www.wesleyan.edu/pac/cir-info.htm). At least one of these courses must be taken from each of three different disciplines; at least two must be taken from the Global Systems section of the list, and at least two more must be taken from the Area Studies section of the list. Among the Area Studies courses, two or more must cover topics related to developing countries; these courses are identified with an asterisk on the web site.

Students are urged to study abroad, preferably in a non-English-speaking country, so that they can improve their language skills. Internships in foreign-policy fields (with international organizations, government agencies, multinational corporations, or nonprofit organizations) are encouraged. A statistics course in economics, government, or sociology is strongly recommended but not required.

Students are admitted to candidacy for the certificate at any time during their senior year. They complete a form similar to the senior concentration form, listing the courses they have already taken and those they plan. This form can be downloaded from the CIR web site.

A maximum of two courses taken at other institutions, either in the United States or abroad, may be counted toward the certificate after they have been approved by the appropriate Wesleyan department chair for Wesleyan major credit. Once this approval has been given, the PAC Committee will determine which of the certificate requirements the course might fulfill.

Wesleyan courses that count toward the certificate are listed on the CIR web site. The deadline for submitting applications is the end of the second week of May of the graduating year. To receive the certificate upon graduation, students will be required to have an overall average of B+ or higher in the advanced courses submitted for certification (if only five courses are listed). Certification will appear on the student’s transcript after graduation.

The foreign language requirement is met by course work through the intermediate college level in any foreign language or demonstration of proficiency gained elsewhere to the satisfaction of the PAC governing board. Intermediate normally means any of the following: FREN215, GRST211 or 214, SPAN112, ITAL112,JAPN205, and HEBR202.